Not your accomplishments, your story : Seventeen clarifying questions I’ve asked and been asked during marketing and strategy interviews.
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Because if I’m going to share with you my most precious commodity, I’ll need to know a few things.
What have been the two most significant pivots in your career? How did one lead to the other?
What is a strategy recommendation you made that transformed your company for the better?
What was the a.) brightest shining moment and b.) toughest time in your career?
What is a business decision you’d like back and why?
What is undervalued in your current business and why? Could be a skill, an asset, a tactic, or an entire value prop.
What is overvalued in your current business?
What market-driven data point is fascinating to you?
What data point in your current business is more noise than signal and vice-versa?
Who was your best coach and why?
Who was your worst coach and why? (No need to name names; a description will suffice.)
Based upon your current understanding of our business, what are three things we should consider doing differently?
If I were to poll 10 people with whom you’ve worked, what would they say you do as well as anyone they know?
Describe a situation that was going sideways and what you did to correct it. How did you measure success?
How would you grade yourself on the most recent launch of a product or service you led?
What work environment brings out the best in you?
What work environment do you find challenging?
What are you striving to improve and how are you making progress?
I realize question sets are often prescriptive; e.g. one person interviews for a specific trait or skill set and another something different. That’s simple divide-and-conquer and it makes sense.
I also realize not every question listed above will be applicable to every role in our known universe. Some interviews are more technical and time is always a limitation. Feel free to modify as you wish. I will.
Best of luck. Not that you’ll need it but it’s nice to have.